Method for customizing mouthpiece retainer for underwater breathing apparatus

ABSTRACT

The retainer portion of the mouthpiece of an underwater breathing apparatus includes at least a portion made of a thermoplastic material. The retainer is customized to the bite of the user by heating the mouthpiece to render the retainer plastic. The retainer, while plastic, is gripped by the teeth of the user to form an impression of the users bite in the thermoplastic material of the retainer. In one embodiment, the thermoplastic portion of the retainer comprises only a sleeve of thermoplastic material which is affixed over the conventional rubber retaining member. In an alternative embodiment, the thermoplastic retainer is formed as an integral molded portion of the mouthpiece.

United States Patent 1191 Shamlian 1 1 Dec. 30, 1975 [75] Inventor:Ralph B. Shamlian, San Francisco,

Calif.

[73] Assignee: Farallon Industries, Inc., Belmont,

Calif.

22 Filed: Aug. 21, 1974 21 Appl. No.: 499,183

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 402,720, Oct, 2,1973, Pat. No.

[52] US. Cl. 156/245; 128/136; 156/293; 264/222 [51] Int. Cl. A61D15/00; B29B 3/00 [58] Field of Search 156/245, 293, 311; 128/147,136,140R, 145 A, 351; 32/19; 264/222 [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 3,247,844 4/1966 Berghash 128/136 5/1966 Greenberg 128/13610/1973 Helmer 128/136 Primary Examiner-Caleb Weston Attorney, Agent, orFirmLowhurst & Aine [57] ABSTRACT The retainer portion of the mouthpieceof an underwater breathing apparatus includes at least a portion made ofa thermoplastic material. The retainer is customized to the bite of theuser by heating the mouthpiece to render the retainer plastic. Theretainer, while plastic, is gripped by the teeth of the user to form animpression of the users bite in the thermoplastic material of theretainer. In one embodiment, the thermoplastic portion of the retainercomprises only a sleeve of thermoplastic material which is affixed overthe conventional rubber retaining member. In an alternative embodiment,the thermoplastic retainer is formed as an integral molded portion ofthe mouthpiece.

6 Claims, *6 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec.30, 1975 Sheetlof2 3,929,548

US. Patant Dec. 30, 1975 Sheet 2 of2 3,929,548

METHOD FOR CUSTOMIZING MOUTHPIECE RETAINER FOR UNDERWATER BREATHINGAPPARATUS This is a division, of application Ser. No. 402,720, filedOct. 2, 1973, now US. Pat. No. 3,844,281.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates in general tomouthpieces for underwater breathing apparatus and, more particularly,to an improved method and apparatus for retaining the mouthpiece withinthe mouth of the user by customizing the retainer means to the bite ofthe user by means of the use of thermoplastic material.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Heretofore, the mouthpiece of an underwaterbreathing apparatus has been retained within the mouth of the user bymeans of rubber projections extending outwardly of the flanged lipportion of the mouthpiece. The retainer projections included a flangedfree-end portion and an intermediate portion which fits between theteeth and which is gripped between the upper and lower teeth in use. Theretaining members are made of rubber and formed as an integrally moldedportion of the rubber mouth-piece.

The problem with the prior art retaining members is that they present arelatively small area to the teeth of the user such that a relativelyhigh pressure is transmitted from the retaining member to the one or twoteeth which grip each of the retaining members. In cold water, the lowtemperature of the gums and teeth tends to aggravate the pain producedby the reactive force of the rubber retaining means on the grippingteeth.

Therefore, it is desired to obtain an improved mouthpiece wherein thereactive gripping force exerted on the teeth by the retaining means isdistributed more uniformly over the gripping teeth such that themouthpiece is more comfortable is use.

It is also known from the prior art to make a toothprotective guard forboxers and other athletes of a thermoplastic material. The thermoplasticguard comprises a curved channel of thermoplastic material which isheated to plastic temperatures and inserted into the mouth and pressedover and around the upper teeth. The user bites gently into the guard,while in the plastic state, and the plastic guard is pressed against theback of the upper teeth such that an impression of the upper teeth isobtained in the guard, whereby the guard is customized to the teeth ofthe user.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The principal object of the presentinvention is the provision of an improved mouthpiece for underwaterbreathing apparatus.

In one feature of the present invention, a blank of a thermoplasticmaterial is formed to be affixed to the mouthpiece of an underwaterbreathing apparatus as a portion of the retaining means thereof, wherebythe retaining structure may be customized to the bite of the user. Themouthpiece is customized to the user by heating the mouthpiece with theaffixed thermoplastic member to render the member plastic, inserting themouthpiece into the mouth of the user and biting down on the heatedthermoplastic retainer portion to obtain an impression of the user'sbite in the retaining struc- 2 ture, whereby the retainer of themouthpiece is customized to the bite of the user.

In another feature of the present invention, thermoplastic blanks whichare to form a portion of the retaining structure of the mouthpiece areformed as sleeves which fit over the conventional rubber retainingprojections of the mouthpiece, whereby a conventional mouthpiece may becustomized to the bite of the user.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent upon a perusal of the following specification taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of themouthpiece portion of an underwater breathing apparatus incorporatingfeatures of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is an end view of the structure of FIG. 1 taken along line 22, inthe direction of the arrow,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view ofa portion of the structure ofFIG. 2 delineated by line 33 and depicting a thermoplastic blank of thepresent invention,

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 depicting an alternativeembodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 4taken along line 55 in the direction of the arrows, and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to that of FIGS. 1 and 4 depicting analternative embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2,there is shown a conventional mouthpiece structure 11 of an underwaterbreathing apparatus as modified to incorporate features of the presentinvention. More particularly, the mouthpiece structure 11, as of onepiece molded rubber, includes a breathing tube portion 12 connected ingas communication via additional tubulation, not shown, to a source ofair.

That portion of the mouthpiece 11 which is to be retained within themouth of the user includes a pliable flanged lip portion 13 at themouthpiece end of the tubulation 12. The flanged lip portion 13 includesa central breathing hole 14 connected in gas communication with thebreathing tube 12.

A pair of retaining members 15, as of rubber, project outwardly from theconcave face of the flange 13 to be clenched between the teeth of theuser for retaining the breathing tube 12 within the mouth of the user.The retaining members 15 each include a central body portion 16extending outwardly from the flange 13 to a flanged free-end portion 17.In a typical example, the central body portion 16 has a thickness 1 of0.20, a width w of 0.50 and a depth of 0.20 inch. The flange portion 17has approximately equal width and thickness as of 0.50 each and a depthas of 0.l0 inch.

A thermoplastic sleeve 18, as more fully shown in FIG. 3, is affixedover each of the retaining projections 15. In a typical example thesleeve 18 is made of a suitable thermoplastic material such as ethylenevinyl acetate. Such a material is commercially available from Dupontunder their trademark Alathon. In a typical example, the sleeve 18 has adepth d of 0.35 and awall thickness 1 of 0.20 inch. The central opening19 in the sleeve 18, which is to receive the main body 16 of theretaining projection 15, has a height h of 0.15 and a width w of 0.45inch. In .use,.the thermoplastic blank sleeves 18 are threaded. overtherespective centralbody portions 16 of the retaining projections .15 andcaptured'to flange l3 via-the flanged. end portions 17 of the retainingprojections 15. w 1

The mouthpiece 1 1 is heated, in a pot of boiling'water for 50seconds'to" render the blank sleeve portions 18 thermoplastic. Themouthpiece 11 is then removed from the boiling water and inserted for lsecond' into cold water. The mouthpiece 11 is placed immediately in themouth of the user with the flange portion 13 disposed between the lipsand the teeth of the user and with the concave-fa'ce'of the flange l3abutting the outside surfaces of the front and side teeth.

The thermoplastic blank sleev'e portions 18 are located inbetwe'en theupper and lower teeth in the re,

gions of the canine and first -pre-molar teeth, i.e.,' between severa ltop and bottom teeth on each side of the mouth behind the front teeth.As the teeth are clenched onto the thermoplastic sleeve 18 they make animpression in the sleeve, such impression indenting the sleevesubstantially to the substantially less plastic central body portion 16,or core, or tab of the retaining projection 15.-

' The 'c'e ntral'body portions 16 ofthe' projections 15 are dimensionedof the proper thickness to ensure that the spacing between the usersteeth, as closed on the retainer bodies 16, is sufficient to permitbreathing through the front teeth and breathing hole 14. As thethermoplastic sleeve-18 deforms toprovide the impression, it elongatesto extend into'the region of adjacent teeth toward the front and rear ofthe mouth. In this manner, substantially increased tooth bearing area isobtained" for the composite retainingstructure. The elongation of thethermoplastic sleeve 18 is not sufficien'tito interfere with orotherwise cutoff the breathingopening-ML I The advantages of thecustomized retainer portion of the mouthpiece 11 are that the loadbearing reactive forces exerted on the teeth by the retaining structureare spread out over more teeth. In addition, the forces are uniformlydistributed over the teeth which bear on the retaining structure toprovide a much-more comfortable grip especially when diving in coldwater.

The thermoplastic sleeves -l8 are adapted to conventionalmouthpiecesILwhich are presently inuse. The userlm erelyacquires thessleeves ,18'and presses them into positionon the existing-retaining structures 15..Jln analternative embodiment of the present invention, (s e e and 6 theretaining projections l5 areeliminated and the thermoplastic blankstructures, l gwhi chmay be solid or which may include the rubbereoresnjb are affixed as bymolding or bonding at 21 to the flange 13. Inanother alternative embodiment (see no.5 the-flange l3 andretainingstructures are integrally molded as one piece of thermoplasticmaterialwhich is-bonded or otherwise affixed to the breathingtube .12,as ,by sealing flange 22. The mouthpiece of the present invention maybe employed to advantage with any type, of underwater breathingapparatus such. as a regulator, snorkel, etc.

What is claimedis:

1. The method ofcustomizing the retaining portion of a mouthpiece of anunderwater breathing apparatus 4 to the bite of the individual usercomprising the steps of; j I

heating ablank of thermoplastic material as an individual portion of theretaining portion of the mouthpiece to a temperature sufficient torender "the blank thermoplastic; t placing the mouthpiece in the mouthof the user while at an elevated temperature compatible with use'withinthe mouth of the user and while in a thermoplastic state; biting down onthe blank thermoplastic material while in the thermoplastic state tosqueeze and compress the blank so as to cause the blank to flow and toform an impression of the users bite in the thermoplastic blank andallowingthe impressed blank to cool, whereby the retainer portion of themouthpiece is customized to the bite of the user. 2. The method of claim1 wherein the blank and mouthpiece are initially separate members andincluding the step of affixing the blankmember of thermoplastic materialto the mouthpiece of the underwater breathing apparatus.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the mouthpiece has atleast oneretaining member projecting from the mouthpiece, and wherein the step ofaffixing the blank of thermoplastic material to the mouthpiece comprisesand'fot holding the upper and lowerteeth apart to facilitate steps of:

heating a blank of thermoplasticmaterial as a portion of the retainingportions of the mouthpiece toa temperature sufficient to render theblank thermoplastic; placing the mouthpiece in the mouth of the userwhile' at an elevated temperature compatible with 'use within the mouthof the user and while in a thermoplastic state;

'biting down on the blank of thermoplastic material while in thethermoplastic state to squeeze and compress the blank so as to cause theblank to flow and to form an impression of the users bite in thethermoplastic blank; and

allowing the impressed blank to cool, whereby the retainer portion ofthe mouthpiece is customized to the bite of the user.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the blank and the mouthpiece areinitially separate members and including the step of affixing-the blankmember of thermoplastic material to the mouthpiece of the underwaterbreathing apparatus.

breathing through the breathing tube, the

6.. The method of claim 5 wherein the mouthpiece has at least oneretaining member projecting from the mouthpiece, andwherein the step ofaffixing the blank of thermoplastic material to the mouthpiece comprisesfitting the blank over the retaining member.

1. THE METHOD OF CUSTOMIZING THE RETAINING PORTION OF A MOUNTHPIECE OFAN UNDERWATER BREATHING APPARATUS TO THE BITE OF THE INDIVIDUAL USERCOMPRISING THE STEPS OF: HEATING A BLANK OF THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL AS ANINDIVIDUAL PORTION OF THE RETAINING PORTION OF THE MOUTHPIECE TO ATEMPERATURE SUFFICIENT TO RENDER THE BLANK THERMOPLASTIC, PLACING THEMOUTHPIECE IN THE MOUTH OF THE USER WHILE AT AN ELEVATED TEMPERATURECOMPATIBLE WITH USE WITHIN THE MOUTH OF THE USER AND WHILE IN ATHERMOPLASTIC STATE, BITTING DOWN ON THE BLANK THERMOPLASTIC MATERIALWHILE IN THE THERMOPLASTIC STATE TO SQUEEZE AND COMPRESS THE BLANK SO ASTO CAUSE THE BLANK TO FLOW AND TO FORM AN IMPRESSION OF THE USERS BITEIN THE THERMOPLASTIC BLANK AND ALLOWING THE IMPRESSED BLAND TO COOL,WHEREBY THE RETAINER PORTION OF THE MOUTHPIECE IS CUSTOMIZED TO THE BITOF THE USER.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the blank and mouthpieceare initially separate members and including the step of affixing theblank member of thermoplastic material to the mouthpiece of theunderwater breathing apparatus.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein themouthpiece has at least one retaining member projecting from themouthpiece, and wherein the step of affixing the blank of thermoplasticmaterial to the mouthpiece comprises fitting the blank over theretaining member.
 4. The method of customizing the mouthpiece of anunderwater breathing apparatus of the type having a pliable flangeextending outwardly from the end of a breathing tube, such flange to bereceived between the lips and the frontal surface of the user''s teethand having a pair of retaining portions extending outwardly from theflange on opposite sides of the breathing tube, such retaining portionsbeing shaped and dimensioned for gripping in between the upper and lowerteeth of the user for holding the mouthpiece in the user''s mouth andfor holding the upper and lower teeth apart to facilitate breathingthrough the breathing tube, the steps of: heating a blank ofthermoplastic material as a portion of the retaining portions of themouthpiece to a temperature sufficient to render the blankthermoplastic; placing the mouthpiece in the mouth of the user while atan elevated temperature compatible with use within the mouth of the userand while in a thermoplastic state; biting down on the blank ofthermoplastic material while in the thermoplastic state to squeeze andcompress the blank so as to cause the blank to flow and to form animpression of the user''s bite in the thermoplastic blank; and allowingthe impressed blank to cool, whereby the retainer portion of themouthpiece is customized to the bite of the user.
 5. The method of claim4 wherein the blank and the mouthpiece are initially separate membersand including the step of affixing the blank member of thermoplasticmaterial to the mouthpiece of the underwater breathing apparatus.
 6. Themethod of claim 5 wherein the mouthpiece has at least one retainingmember projecting from the mouthpiece, and wherein the step of affixingthe blank of thermoplastic material to the mouthpiece comprises fittingthe blank over the retaining member.